The chief executive officer of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) said he expects good growth for the bank in 2019 if this past year’s momentum continues amid strong economic prospects in both the U.S. and Canada.

“I’m very happy with how our business is evolving and how we are doing,” Bharat Masrani told BNN Bloomberg’s Amanda Lang in an interview that aired Friday.  

“We’re seeing lots of momentum – we enter the new year with good tailwinds in our business. The economic prospects in Canada and the U.S. are positive,” he said, pointing to rising interest rates and a benign credit environment, which he expects will help the bank’s performance in the coming year.

TD ended the year with a blowout performance south of the border, with profits in its U.S. banking operations surging 44 per cent year-over-year in its fourth fiscal quarter.

Masrani said he was happy with the way TD Bank, which currently has more branches in the U.S. than in Canada, is positioned especially amid a strong U.S. economy.

But he also acknowledged factors such as global trade tensions that could potentially lead to turbulence.

“On the other hand, you have events, some of the market indicators, microeconomic indicators, geopolitical indictors. So there is chance that we will see a lot of volatility,” he said.  

Overall, Masrani said he expects positive growth for TD next year, especially now that factors that were once a major concern – like the housing market and U.S.-Canada trade tensions –  have been somewhat alleviated.

“Should this momentum that we’ve seen over the recent past continue, then you should expect some good growth and earnings from TD in 2019.”